5 Of The Best Christmas Horror Films

Christmas is just around the corner, yet hiding beneath the tinsel and festive cheer are countless bone-chilling horrors. If you are looking for something to make you shiver this season, here are five Christmas horror films set to do exactly that.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

Director: Jalmari Helander

A Finnish horror, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale concerns citizens living near the Korvatunturi mountain. The film opens with a research team in Lapland, drilling into what is soon revealed to be an ancient burial mound where the ‘real Santa’ is frozen deep into the ground.

Santa Claus, in this film, is not the jolly gift-giving man we have come to know and love. He is instead a cannibalistic monster, whose elves bring children to their malevolent leader. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale offers its audience a traditional representation of the Finnish Santa Claus – an undoubtedly malicious figure.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale won first prize at the Sitges Fantastic film festival and the Welsh Abertoir Horror festival. The film also took US$4,105,133 at the box office.

A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

Director: Steven Hoban, Brett Sullivan, Grant Harvey

An anthology horror film, A Christmas Horror Story is a combination of four tales weaved together under the framework of a radio DJ, Dangerous Dan (William Shatner).

During the broadcast, each of the stories is unveiled. From a murder investigation to zombie elves, A Christmas Horror Story is both a fun and disturbing anthology set to satisfy your frightening needs this Christmas.

Tales from the Crypt: And All Through the House (1972)

Director: Freddie Francis

A British horror from the 70s, Tales from the Crypt is another anthology film with five segments based on EC Comics. The film follows five strangers who enter the catacombs, before coming across a bizarre crypt-keeper (Ralph Richardson) who reveals details about each of the stranger’s impending deaths.

Taken from The Vault of Horror #35, in the segment …And All Through the House Joanne Clayton (Joan Collins) kills her husband on Christmas Eve. Whilst she is attempting to hide the body, Clayton hears of a ‘homicidal maniac’ on the loose.

Dead End (2003)

Director: Jean-Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa

During a drive on Christmas Eve, Frank Harrington makes the risky decision to take a short cut through an abandoned location. A French horror-drama, Dead End tells the story of a family who find themselves on an interminable road in the heart of the forest.

Dead End was certainly a success, earning over $77 million dollars in DVD sales. The film also stars Lin Shaye, heralded as a ‘scream queen’ as a result of her roles in manifold horror and thriller films.

Wind Chill (2007)

Director: Gregory Jacobs

Starring Emily Blunt and Ashton Holmes, Wind Chill follows a female student – ‘the girl’ – using a ride-share system in order to travel home for Christmas. Joined by ‘the guy’, they make the trek back to Delaware together.

The pair drive further into the snowy wasteland, before getting stranded on a road where ‘freak accidents’ occur every time winter rolls around.